Dark Tempest
by kyttynz
Summary: How hard would you fight to survive? How far would you go for revenge? - 2016-03-21: overhaul. Check for addition of Sweet Anne, Dex, and Daina if you haven't already - 2016-03-23: sorry for the re-up, it's not updating properly :(
1. The Girl who Sees Herself

**PROLOGUE**

 **March 3, 2004**

A team of scientists led by Dr. Lola Z. Gormley are able to create the astrophysical phenomenon believed to be "Dark Matter" in a controlled laboratory setting. Researchers from around the world are able to visit the lab answers many questions previously thought unanswerable, resulting in technological breakthroughs in the field of clean energy generation.

 **July 4, 2004**

The first documented case of actual "psychic powers" by a young woman named Miriam Stockley. Numerous experiments are undertaken and the authenticity is soon accepted by a stunned scientific community. It would be months more, however, before the connection is linked back to the unusual energy released by the annihilation of the artificial Dark Matter.

 **September 17, 2004**

The effect coined "Void Energy" begins to show influence all around the world. Many people demonstrate an affinity and develop enhanced natural abilities. Others acquire the ability to subtly manipulate energy in what had previously been considered a "supernatural" fashion. Science attempts to retake the ground lost to these new phenomena by studying the people affected, colloquially known as "Voids".

 **June 29, 2007**

Most developed nations enact legislation that citizens and newborns are to be tested for affinity and all Voids are required to be registered. While most people continue about their normal lives, there is simmering tension from many Voids who object to being the object of scientific study.

 **July 14, 2010**

Tensions run deeper when police attempt to pacify a Void protest. One of the protesters, known only as Tonio, uses his powers to immolate responding officers, killing three before he's gunned down. The event set a new mark for what people knew Voids to be capable of. The resulting fear of Void abilities causes tension and a rapid escalation in Void-related laws.

 **December 17, 2014**

Government bodies worldwide collaborate on strict anti-Void legislations. All people and newborns testing positive for affinity are taken from their families and detained. Most, with small affinities, were sent to live in internment camps. Those with higher affinities were taken away for study or disposal.

 **December 12, 2015**

Present day...

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Girl who Sees Herself**

The night air was filled with noise. Huge raindrops beat furiously against the earth in a tumultuous downpour. A peal of thunder ripped down from the sky and shook the ground below like a blow from a great invisible fist. But below the surface, a young girl sat silently on her bed reading a book, completely oblivious to the goings on above.

In her chamber, it was silent. Instead of the periodic rumble of thunder, there was the crinkling of pages turning. Today was what they called "Saturday". It was her day off, and the girl loved her days off. There were no tests. It wasn't that she hated the testing, it was just that she loved to be alone. Here she could read, and she could practice. Without taking her focus from the text in front of her, she took a deep breath and concentrated. Slowly, she could feel her awareness splitting in two, and a part of her rose up from the bed, floating up, and turned to face herself reading the book.

This was her ghost. This was what the doctors said made her special. She'd had her ghost for as long as she could remember, and to her, it was completely normal. But apparently, none of the doctors could do it. It made her feel special when they praised her during the tests. Most of the tests were easy; they would hide things in various places to see how long it took her to find them. She was very good at finding things; that was her favorite game. They would check to see how quickly she could pass through different walls, how well she could feel hot or cold. Sometimes, they would even open the shielding on her chamber, and allow her ghost to wander the halls.

Of course, there were other shielded places where her ghost couldn't go. She couldn't leave the facility, and she couldn't go into any of the other chambers and visit the other girls, though she knew the names on all the doors. Anne, Uni, Xin… And one with her own name; Lily. She'd asked the doctors if the other girls had ghosts, too. The doctors said no, but they never told her what made them special enough to have their names on doors.

Lily was alone in her chamber, and about to try the new trick she'd been working on. She reached the end of the page and watched herself… Lily concentrated… And was able to turn the page without completely returning to her body!

She was so excited! She could hardly wait to tell Dr Ueda about her latest trick!

But then she frowned… She hoped it wouldn't turn into another weird test like the button test… She didn't like the button test.

A few months ago, she'd found that if she shifted her concentration enough, people could see her ghost. And if she focused hard enough, she could speak. And if she focused so hard that she stopped breathing, her ghost hands could move things. So the doctors made a button with a countdown and made her sit in a cold chair. She had to find the button with her ghost and press it before the countdown was 0, or else the cold chair would hurt her, and she'd come crashing back into her body. And it was hard… It was even harder the further away from her body the button was.

Lily hated the button test.

But today was her day off, and though the doctors had left the shield up, she was happy because she could read her books by herself.

All by herself. That's why her heart nearly stopped when she heard the voice in her room.

"Lily… Lily…"

Lily looked around. There was nobody there. And the voice was far too clear to have come through the speaker that the doctors used. Where was it coming from? Outside the walls? But that was impossible; the doctors said the walls were made with Avoidium. They said it was impossible for any ghost to break through.

"Lily… I need your help…"

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, fearfully.

"Lily… I'm trying… To write a story…"

Lily immediately brightened up; she loved stories!

"What's it about?"

"It's about a lost princess… A princess chained up and locked away in a castle, sealed with an iron door, and filled with monsters."

"That sounds terrible!"

"It was terrible, Lily. But one day, the princess' mother the Queen was able to sneak her way into the castle, break the chains, and unlock the iron door for the princess."

Lily's eyes widened "but what about the monsters?!"

"The Queen was able to trick the monsters so they couldn't see the princess, and she was able to escape from the castle!"

Lily clapped her hands "That's wonderful! What happened next?!"

"The princess ran. She ran into the night, through the forest, as far as she could. But then she found herself in a scary place, filled with darkness and hard shapes. She didn't recognize anything, and she was alone and lost and scared!"

Lily leaned forward "But where was the Queen? Couldn't she help the princess?"

"The Queen grew tired and couldn't follow the princess… But she found a little yellow bird, and told the bird a secret! A secret that she could share only with the princess"

"What was the secret?!"

"Can you keep a secret, Lily?"

Lily nodded

"I knew you could. Listen carefully… We'll write the next chapter together..."

Many miles away, a girl with long blue hair slipped out a door and ran into the cold, noisy rain.


	2. Cages for the Mind

Daina shifted uneasily on the floor. The fog had finally lifted from her mind, and she stretched out her lithe body. She took her time, moving each toe, both legs, working her way up to her neck and then down her arms. She extended every claw, one by one, and brought one across the top of her arm, almost hard enough to break the skin and savoring the pain.

Her body was hers again.

Another round of mind-control testing had left her in shambles, her body limp from exertion and her mind heavy from the exhaustion of trying to resist the impulses they'd given her. And worse, she could remember everything. Her claws raking through fur and flesh, blood swirling over her tongue as her teeth sank deep into…

She scrambled over to the commode and vomited. Bile, tinctured deep red, filled the bowl and the scent threatened to overpower her sensitive nose. She hit the flusher and collapsed, trying to focus on the other sensations… The sound of her own labored breathing, the smell of the metal bars and the distinct scent of her cellmate. Her partner. Her lover.

She stood, shakily, and shambled over to the bars and looked. Her predators eyes pierced the darkness easily and she saw him on the floor just across the bars. His breathing was steady but she could hear him rasping slightly, his throat sore from screaming.

A tear ran down her face as she remembered. Shrieks of pain. His face twisted in agony, his body writhing against the restraints… And above it all his voice, as steady as he could keep it, reminding her over and over "Daina! It's not your fault! It's not your fault!"

She reached down to the scabbed rents on his arm and drew her hand across them… They lined up perfectly with her fingers… Her claws.

"Dex… I'm so…"

Her words trailed off and she sank down, clutching the bars as her face hung between them. On the other side, Dex shifted and grunted.

Daina sobbed and sank down, conscious of her own scars. Dex had not been spared the torment of the ordeals. The endless tests pushed their willpower, their tolerance. It threatened to tear apart their minds, their souls… But through it all they hung on to each other.

The two of them had been together even before they'd been detained and sent to the Void camp. They'd been best friends as children, becoming increasingly inseparable as they grew up. Life in the camps had been relatively normal, despite the ragged conditions, and the two of them had become more and more as time went on. They particularly enjoyed sneaking off together when the IVRA patrols came through the camp. The excitement of being discovered made their liasons somehow more exciting. Their hushed growls and stifled cries as they pushed against each other, with soft bites and gentle claws were somehow never overheard. But it ended suddenly when the IVRA patrols lingered longer than usual one day. At first, Dex and Daina had enjoyed pretending they were playing hide-and-seek, but as the afternoon darkened to evening they began to realize the soldiers were, in fact, seeking something.

Their sharp ears began over-hearing the conversations among the officers, the guards, and some of the other camp inhabitants. The IVRA patrol wasn't looking for someone, they were looking for two someones.

It was only a matter of time before they found the two lovers, and had whisked them away to this awful place. Daina ran a finger up by her temple, just below her ear, and felt the scar. The only thing on the outside that hinted at the implant. What the people here called the "V4 control chip". The device they used to control them. Testing the limits of the control and tweaking their devices by turning each of them on the other, and the thing they both cherished most of all.

Dex stirred slightly, and Daina heard a slight change in his breathing?

"You're awake?"

He managed a weak smile "Hi"

"Dex, I'm so-"

He raised a fuzzy hand "I know, love. We've been over this."

She shook her head "But it doesn't get any easier…"

"It could. I'm telling you, next time you shouldn't resist. Don't give them what they want, don't put yourself through the pain. If they tell you to tear my throat out, just do it."

She smirked "It's just that easy? I could never do it, you know that. Tell me, if I asked the same from you, would you be able to do it? Just go along with it? If I told you not to fight it, just tear me limb from limb, do you think you really could?"

His smile wavered "I… I don't…"

She reached out and brushed his palm with her fingers "No matter how much it hurts, babe, I'll never be able to go down without a fight. You can tell me to make it easy on myself, but doing… that… to you… It's not easy."

"Damned if we do, damned if we don't… No wonder they chose us."

She lowered her eyes to her hand and flexed a claw. "There is always a way out…"

He grabbed her hand and his tone was harsh "No. Not yet. I'm gonna fight this until I can't fight any more. And as long as I have you…" Dex winced as he pushed himself off the floor and leaned towards the bars "I can fight this forever."

Daina smiled and pushed her nose against his cheek "Same."

They kissed softly, savoring the moment. It was these times together that kept them barely sane. They both knew that their captors had it calculated, like the carrot vs the stick, but they didn't care. This was all they needed. Daina placed her forhead against his.

"As long as I have you..."


	3. Empty Nest

Iesada Tatsuya was not a happy man. Anyone who'd worked for him knew this much. If you got results, then they likely weren't good enough. If they happened to be good enough, then they probably took too long. And if they happened to not take too long, then they certainly cost too much. He was infamous for running his facility as a perfectionist, often stepping in to supervise even the smallest details on the experiments, and always wearing his signature scowl. The perfectionism, however, was a facade; he knew perfection was unattainable but believed it was his duty to his staff that he serve as a constant reminder of their goals.

At the moment, however, his normally sour face was neutral and impassive. Those who knew him well knew that this was the face he wore when a situation demanded his fullest attention. And the current situation was nothing short of a disaster. Today marked the first time a Void had ever escaped from an IVRA research facility and somehow, even with a staff of a few hundred, nobody seemed to have any idea what had happened.

Only one of the guards even remembered seeing the escapee on her way out of the building. She'd fired several rounds and was "sure she'd hit the target", but whether she had or not, it certainly hadn't been enough to bring her down.

The white-faced technician who sat trembling before him was the one who'd had the best view of the incident. Excluding, of course, the man who still lay on the lab floor, the remnants of his shattered face still being examined by other IVRA researchers.

"Yasujiro-san, I realize it's difficult, but you know I need to ask you what happened in there."

The pale man did not respond.

"Yasujiro-san! Tell me what happened down there. What happened to Tayama-san?"

Yasujiro did not respond immediately, but he stopped quivering at the mention of the name. Iesada waited and, eventually, the man spoke.

"We… I don't know what happened."

"Just tell me what you do know."

Yasujiro thought, and his eyes became focused. "The subject entered the test chamber and sat in the seat, just as usual. We waited for the restraints to latch, and then we entered the chamber to attach the electrodes… I remember Tayama looked up, suddenly, like he was startled… I think he asked 'what's that?'... And then she just… Raised her arm… Shackle and all. And then she just…". Yasujiro swallowed, his voice quavering. "She just hit him. She caved his face right in! I fell back and she just got up and ran out of the room." He gave Iesada a pleading stare "She was supposed to be restrained! The indicators were all green!"

Iesada nodded, frowned, and turned to his terminal.

"CYVA?"

The familiar blonde sunvisor-toting avatar of IVRA's virtual assistant flashed on to the screen. "Yes, Dr. Iesada?"

"What do the logs say about Hatsune's restraints before the incident?"

An array of bright geometric shapes flickered across CYVA's visor as she referred to her system logs. "All restraints were engaged before Yasujiro and Tayama entered the staging area."

"But the door to the observation room remained open?"

"Aff. Containment protocols for subject Hatsune do not require the observation room to lock once the limb restraints are engaged. Only the exit to the main hallway is required to be sealed."

"And what about the exit? Was it locked according to protocol?"

CYVA's visor flickered again and she cocked her head. "Unknown."

Iesada stared coolly at the monitor "You mean it was unlocked?"

The tiny avatar shook its head. "Neg, I mean there is no record available for the state of the door at that time. However, surveillance shows subject Hatsune exiting the room through the door. That, combined with the maintenance report that the door was undamaged, indicates it may have been unlocked."

"I see." Iesada looked back at his guest. "Yasujiro, I'd like you to report back to IVRA psych. You're on indefinite paid leave until further notice."

Yasujiro stood, taking a moment to gather his legs, and moved to exit, but hesitated "Sir… If I think of anything else?"

Iesada nodded "Write it down the minute you remember anything. Thank you for your cooperation."

Yasujiro left, and Iesada turned back to the monitor. "CYVA, get me Alpha Lab."

The screen went black but for the IVRA logo, then a young man's face appeared on the monitor. It was Dr Kikkawa, Alpha's second-in-command

"Iesada?"

"Where's Dr. Hagiwara?"

"She's supervising the replacement of a refrigeration unit. She's been notified of the breach, and she'll be expecting a full report on the incident later on. Have you recovered the subject?"

"No."

"And have you determined the cause? Do you have any recommendations for improving the containment protocols?"

"Not at this time. All experiments at Gamma are on hold until a full review has been completed. We're recommending the same for the other facilities."

Kikkawa nodded "That's wise, I agree. CYVA, notify all facilities. Any procedures not critical to subject maintenance and containment are to be suspended immediately."

The little blonde avatar appeared briefly on the monitor. "Aff." Her visor flickered. "Orders relayed."

Kikkawa leaned forward in his seat "Tell me this, Iesada; what's the risk to the public?"

"Very low. Hatsune is a class D, the lowest rated Potent we've ever taken for study, and the only Potent we've ever had at this minimum security facility. All our other Voids are Augments, and considered more a threat to public safety than she."

"And what's her Potential? Some manner of Kinetic, if I recall?"

"That's correct; she's able to use her Chakra to physically manipulate her own body, but she's unable to affect anything beyond her physical person."

"So, she has enhanced strength?"

Iesada shook his head "You'd think that, but the strain of the extra forces applied on her body would damage her. She could probably summon enough Chakra to punch through a brick wall, for example, but she'd certainly pulverise her hand in the process. She seems unable to use her Chakra in a defensive manner. If she had the capability, we'd have seen it; there's no way any creature, even a Void, would subject themselves to as much as we've put her through if they had the choice. In fact, the experiment we were looking to conduct today involved breaking her arms again to see if she'd learned to resist."

"I see. So then how did she break the restraints?"

"We're looking into that, now. Three of the four limb restraints have been recovered. They've been sent for testing, but at a glance they appear to have simply been cut with a high heat source."

"The subject had Pyro affinity?"

Iesada shook his head. "No, she was purely a low-level Kinetic, and we've never seen a Void increase or alter their Affinity."

Kikkawa pursed his lips "Except for..."

Iesada waved a hand dismissively "Of course, but that was a very special case with very special circumstances. We've never been able to replicate it since. Not even on a small scale."

CYVA flashed back onto the screen with a sparkle. "Doctors, a report from forensics. They've discovered the fourth restraint lodged in the posterior of Tayama's skull."

Iesada grimaced "So she didn't just punch his face off…"

Kikkawa raised an eyebrow "Is that an issue? If she supplements her ability with weapons?"

Iesada shook his head "Unlikely. Have you ever really hit something with a bat and felt how your hands hurt afterward? She hasn't demonstrated any ability to compensate for Newton's law like higher-level Kinetics. She probably even bruised her wrist bones when she hit Tayama with the restraint. She's useless, and was already on Gamma's shortlist for cancellation and dissection if any new Void was approved for study at this facility. The only interesting thing we've ever seen from her was when she learned to put her hair in those damned ponytails using just her Chakra the last time we'd broken both her arms. If I could go back in time, I'd just send her to the camps instead… But as it is, we can't have her telling anyone what goes on here. It would be another Void riot."

Kikkawa leaned back "I see. So recovery isn't a priority, then…"

Iesada's face remained impassive "She's to be terminated on sight. That is, if she doesn't fall over dead before then. But first, we'll need to track her down."

"And find out exactly how she escaped the facility in the first place, of course. I'll pass this all along to Dr. Hagiwara. Good luck."

"Thank you."

The screen flashed back to the desktop, and Iesada rested his chin in his hand.

CYVA materialized on the screen. "Dr Iesada, I have speculated a potential solution to the difficulty of locating the subject"

The screen flashed over and displayed an IVRA research subject profile. Iesada glanced over it briefly, and then nodded. "That's actually a good idea, CYVA. Call Delta Lab."


	4. Cold Blue

CRACK!

Miku screamed as her ulna snapped under the pressure of the metal press. Voices floated in from beyond the haze of pain.

"No change from the last time, Dr Iesada. 1354 pounds of pressure, still within 5%"

"Let's try the other arm. CYVA, relocate the press."

"Aff."

The blurry black shape lifted from the left arm of her chair and moved across her vision, settling on her right.

"Please no…"

The machine hummed and she felt the anvil pressing against her forearm.

Iesada's voice crackled through the intercom "Hatsune, remember what we discussed. Focus your energy just like with the weight lifting, but see if you can focus it against the point of pressure"

Miku choked out between her sobs "I'm trying it's not working!"

Another voice "600 pounds..."

"Please stop!"

Iesada's tone was matter of fact "You need to focus, that's the only way."

"800 pounds..."

Miku screwed her eyes shut, pressing out fresh tears, and tried to push her energy against the machine.

"It's jumped to 1250!"

"That's it, Hatsune! Resist!"

"1300 pounds..."

CRACK!

Miku awoke with a start, the thunder still echoing off the alley walls, fading away along with the sensations of the pain from her dream. She shifted over in her makeshift cardboard shelter, listening to the patter of rain around her. The nightmares had followed her all the way to the city, as though to tell her that while she'd freed her body, part of her mind was still held captive.

She'd hoped that since her escape, she'd have more pleasant dreams, like the one she'd had that morning where instead of the metal chair with its shackles, it was a warm chair with soft armrests. Instead of a robotic armature programmed to snap her bones, there was a person behind her, gently brushing her flowing blue hair.

The person leaned close and spoke softly in her ear; it was a woman's voice. "You've got such beautiful hair, you know!"

Soft hands lifted her hair and let it fall gently down around her shoulders.

"It's like a princess in a fairy tale! Waiting for a prince to come and save her, like Rapunzel."

Miku remembered Rapunzel from one of the books the doctors had given her. The princess who'd used her hair as a rope to escape from her prison. She closed her eyes as strong arms clasped around her chest and something warm pressed against her back. The voice in her ear, whispering now.

"But there won't be a prince for you. You don't need one. You're too strong! Stronger than steel. Remember that, my love… Stronger than steel. When the time comes, don't let anyone stop you. Run to the lights…"

And then she'd woken up to a blaring alarm. After a dull breakfast, she'd been summoned to the testing room. Dressed in a paper robe, she resigned herself to the familiar chair… The shackles at her arm were familiar, but something felt different. They weren't cold anymore; a strange heat licked against her wrists and ankles. As the men entered the room to attach wires to her, she heard the same voice of her dream.

But it was not gentle. It spoke loudly, and urgently.

"NOW".

Though her muscles were dulled by sedatives, she summoned the force within her and willed her arms to raise. The metal bit into her arms, and blood began to trickle to the chair. One of the men noticed the crimson drops right as one of the shackles broke.

She'd stared at her arm for a moment, at first in disbelief, but then… rage. She lashed her arm out at the man on her right, and he disappeared from her view. Willing herself to stand, she felt the hard metal digging into her skin, piercing it, and then… they clattered to the floor! She stood, stunned for a moment, but a flickering light beyond the doorway broke her from the trance. She ran through the door without thinking and…

The rest was a blur and now, she was here… Lost and alone in an unfamiliar city, hiding from the rain and cold, and so very, very tired… She curled herself up a little more, closed her eyes again, and reached out for a good dream.

Three young men were laughing and stumbling drunkenly through the rain. Two of them were laughing, the third looked dejected with his hands in his pockets.

"I can't believe that bitch turned me down!"

One of the men put a hand on his shoulder, with a mocking reassurance. "Of course she did, Shunsuke! You're fucking ugly as shit!"

"Shut the hell up, Yoshi. At least I have a job."

"And yet I'm the one with a girlfriend. Don't worry, we'll find you a woman, but we'll probably have to pay for it!"

Shunsuke swung a wild fist at Yoshi, who ducked beneath it, laughing.

The third man laughed with him and then suddenly veered into an alley. "I gotta take a piss guys. Stop flirting and just wait a minute." He found himself an adequate bin, unzipped his pants, and let fly, his contribution to the alley floor negligible amidst the falling rain. Then, a pile of cardboard further down the alley shifted on its own. He jumped with a start, leaned over to investigate, and then as his eyes adjusted to the shadows he shouted out "Holy shit, guys, I mighta just found Shunsuke a woman!"

The other two joined him in the alley, and Yoshi tore away the cardboard, revealing a young girl lying curled in a pile of trash, clothed only in her own long blue hair and some discarded newspaper.

"Haw, looks like she's ready to go, too! Yo sweetie, you got a name?"

The girl looked up at him, but didn't respond.

Yoshi grabbed her under the arm and lifted her up, cackling roughly as the papers fell away revealing her body, slick with rain. Her hair dangled in long ponytails brushing against her ankles. Yoshi shoved her against the brick wall and leered "Sorry, Shunsuke! I might just hafta keep this one to myself."

"What about your girlfriend, Yoshi?"

"Aww, man, you ain't gonna tell… And it don't sound like this one's gonna say nothin neither!" He shoved her again "You gonna tell me your name, honey?"

The girl's lips moved "...on...ger…"

Yoshi leaned in, his breath thick with alcohol "What's that, honey? You find your tongue? Haw-haw you gonna need it!"

She closed her eyes, remembering a line from one of her books, and spoke again "I'm... Stronger… Steel..."

Yoshi stepped back and turned to his grinning friends. "Yo, you guys won't believe this chick's name."

The girl looked up suddenly, glaring at him with icy blue eyes as lightning flashed in the distance.

CRACK!

The sound resounded off the alley walls. For a second, it was quiet.

Then, the thunder came.


	5. Crown of Thorns

Michi Ueda stood uneasily outside the entrance to Lily's cell. Even though she wasn't considered a threat, Voids always made Michi uneasy. Lily was considered to be safe, but something about the girl always put Ueda's teeth on edge. She preferred to talk to Lily through the intercom, but this was different. She'd been requested to enlist the young Void's help in finding Gamma Lab's escaped research subject, but Lily wasn't keen on working her "days off", so she'd come to talk to her in person. She could force her, of course, but she knew from experience that their best chance at success hinged on her willful cooperation.

She rapped on the door. "Lily? I'm coming in."

She waited a moment, punched her code into the access panel, and the door slid away, revealing the chamber within. Lily was seated on her bed, reading. Books lay in small piles on nearly every available surface. One lay open on her small table..

She glanced at the book in her hands. "Fairy and Folk Tales today.." Lily didn't respond; she tended not to, unless a question had been asked of her. She wasn't one to engage in idle conversation. "Have you been reading your study books?"

Lily nodded toward the table. Ueda looked over. A blonde apparition wavered into existence, turned the page, and faded back into nothingness. The girl on the bed spoke up "I like the stories better."

Ueda felt her lips twitch involuntarily into the slightest of smiles "Of course." She looked around the room, hesitant to make the request. She looked over Lily's collection of drawings and noticed that something looked different. She frowned as she approached and gestured to the new drawing. "Who's this?"

"It's the princess." Lily said, and though the girl didn't so much as glance in her direction, Michi knew better than to think she wasn't being watched.

"What's the blue stuff on her head?"

"It's her crown."

"Is she from one of your stories?"

"Yes."

She turned back to the girl on the bed, considering how to broach the subject of her assistance. She took a breath. Head-on was the best approach.

"Lily, we need your help to find something."

She turned a page. "Like a test?"

Ueda hesitated "Yes…"

"I don't wanna."

Unsure what to do, she knelt, pleading "Lily, this is different. We need your help to find someone. She's lost -"

The girl on the bed looked up and fixed her eyes on Michi's. A sudden voice from behind gave her goosebumps "And alone and scared?"

Michi turned to address the apparition behind her, as Lily seemed to prefer "I imagine she is..."

"Just like the story!" Lily exclaimed, her eyes suddenly bright.

Michi frowned at the books around the room; she had no idea what the girl meant, but if it meant she'd help… "Yes, exactly like the story."

The ghost vanished as Lily put down her book and bounced to the floor. She looked up at her and took her hand.

"Let's go!"

Yoshi kept laughing, the sound burbling wetly through the gaping rent in his throat as his hot blood leapt steaming through the cool rain and lighting across Miku's face and the wall behind her.

That had been both easier and harder than she'd imagined; she was half expecting it not to work at all, though she'd aimed to take his head off completely.

If only she hadn't been so tired.

Yoshi hit the ground stiffly like a felled tree, a final pulse of blood leaking from his mouth and neck. The man to her left screamed "SHE'S A FUCKING VOID!" and pushed past her, knocking her to the ground as he darted for the alley exit. She concentrated through the rain and the haze of exhaustion, seeing only his foot as he stepped down in front of her. She focused again, thin as a razor, fast as a whip, and stronger than steel.

CRACK!

Shunsuke took another step, leaving his foot and ankle exactly where he'd left it. He flailed as he tried to put his missing foot down, splashing the stump of his shin into a puddle and screaming as he collapsed.

Miku hauled herself to her feet and walked slowly toward him, her hair glinting with blood and rain. She grabbed him by the shoulder and thrust him roughly against the alley wall. She knelt and brushed her fingers lightly against his face, feeling the distance between them. This time, she wouldn't miss.

The man gasped out an apology, but Miku wasn't listening. Her hair drew back behind her, floating above the alley floor and gathering itself in a narrow tendril, then flying forward and upward in a cyan blur. It shattered the air with another loud crack as it broke the sound barrier, and Shunsuke's head snapped back beneath a fountain of tooth, blood, and bone.

Much better.

"How's she doing?"

"Heart rate 70. Respiration slow, but stable."

Michi looked over at the girl in the chair "Lily?"

"I'm fine" came the murmured answer. Her eyes were uncharacteristically shut.

Ueda turned back to the technician "EEG?"

"Unusually low, but still well in the green."

"Probably because of the distance we're dealing with. We've never tried this before, so let me know the minute you think something's wrong. Be ready with the electroshock, .75 seconds on my command. Not a moment sooner."

"Understood."

CYVA chimed in through the speakers "IVRA recovery squads are standing by in the city for when we get a location."

Ueda walked over to the chair. A stray wisp of blonde hair lay across the center of the little girl's face. Unthinking, she brushed it aside, then briefly mentally chastised herself… No sense getting attached to these creatures. Then, she noticed something. Instead of the usual pout of concentration, Lily's lips were curled in the slightest of smiles. It was unusual, but Michi was just glad she was in a good mood. They'd need every advantage they could get to track down their wayward Void.

Lily could feel the city threatening to overwhelm her senses. The meager stimulation of the lab had not come close to preparing her for this moment. She stopped to focus, reaching inside herself to separate the sensations. Slowly, she started to piece together the puzzle of her senses. The sounds of the passing cars became distinct from the touch of the rain slipping through her. She could sense the coolness of the night air contrast the warmth from the lights below.

The visceral noise began to take shape. She saw the thrum of machinery, felt the sound of a distant alarm, heard the lights flick off in an apartment. She opened her eyes and sensed… Fear.

A scream, and then… A man running headlong through the rain.

Something felt right, like the tests, and she knew she was good at finding things. She willed herself to move to the source of the trouble.

Miku finished dressing herself in the dead man's clothes. They weren't a great fit, but they'd have to do; the third man had escaped and she knew that trouble would come. She had to move quickly, but continuing naked through the streets would certainly attract attention. Attention she did not want.

She wiped off a grimy window and surveyed herself. The dark colors and wetness from the rain hid the blood well. She looked down at the two bodies before her. It was time to go, before anyone else saw her.

"Hi!"

Miku whirled, a supersonic tendril lashing out on instinct, vaporizing the rain as it sliced through the figure that had suddenly appeared behind her. There was no spray of blood, no severed limb… The young girl continued to stand in the alleyway, smiling up at her.

No, not standing… The girl wasn't touching the ground. A car passing on the street illuminated the alley, and Miku realized she could see right through her. The apparition spoke again.

"Are you Hutsoonee?"

The childish mispronunciation of her name might have normally irked her, but Miku was in no frame of mind to be annoyed.

"Yeah."

The girl clapped her hands, her youthful glee overshadowed by the silence of the motion. "You've got such beautiful hair!"

Miku's hair rippled as she remembered the shadowy figure from her dream. "Who are you?"

The ghost winced and her image wavered, the alley behind her becoming briefly clear. When she returned to view, her eyes were warm but her lips were twisted with pain.

"There's no time! I've got something to tell you!"

"Increase to a full second and try again!"

Lily arched up against the chair as the current coursed through her. Ueda wasn't sure what had happened; her cardio and EEG responses had been waning gradually as she'd moved further away, but then, without a word, she'd suddenly dropped off. Slumped over, not breathing. Was she projecting? Why on Earth? It didn't make sense…

A voice shouted from the instruments "Should we close the shutter?"

Ueda shouted back "Absolutely not! We don't know what'll happen if we separate her… Them… Up the current 20% and try again!"

Lily thrashed in the chair, her nails digging trenches into her palms.

Ueda ran to the chair. "How long has it been?"

"Almost two minutes, sir!"

"I'm not losing her over Iesada's incompetence! Signal the med team to stand by, and wait for my signal to shock her again"

"Her heart's stopped!"

Ueda stomped on the emergency pedal, and the chair collapsed flat. She recalled her CPR training, and leant down to give the girl air, then steadied herself above her limp body for compressions. He cursed herself, Iesada, Hatsune, and the God she'd given up on years ago.

1...2...3...4...5…

The ghost shuddered "I'll see you soon?"

And she vanished.

Miku stood in the rain, reeling from the ghost-girl's story. There's no way she could have believed any of it… The labs, the Voids, anything. And the responsibility on her? She wasn't sure she could handle it.

Of course, she could always keep running. She could run, and never ever look back. She was free, and there was no reason to risk any of it, for anyone.

Then she thought of everything that had happened to her. The nightmares, the constant fear. The broken bones, the sadistic tests… There were others, there were so many others, and none of them deserved any of it… Nobody deserved such a thing just for being born. She made up her mind, and spoke to the empty air. "Yes… I'll see you soon."

And Iesada. Miku clenched her teeth as the man's face appeared in her mind. It was her chance to see him pay for his sins. She glanced down at the bodies on the ground.

"I'll see you soon…"

"We've got a heartbeat!"

Michi straightened up as Lily opened her eyes and glanced around the room. She rushed to undo the harnesses as the med-techs wrapped bandages around her bleeding palms.

"Lily! What happened?"

The young girl looked at her, smiling broadly through bloody teeth and giggling. "It's a secret!"


	6. Meeting of the Minds

Doctor Hirose Mitsunari had his chin buried in his palm, speaking between his fingers at the men and women gathered around the large table "This is unbelievable. How does a Class D get out of a secure facility, leaving a trail of bodies in the city, and yet nobody seems to know what the hell is going on?!"

Iesada was slouched "We're looking into it. And I don't think two dead constitutes a 'trail of bodies', Dr Hirose."

Hirose's face twisted "You don't think two dead is too many? Unbelieveable. How did a supposed Class D kill two grown men and how, exactly, did she do… " Hirose grimaced and gestured at the bloody scene on the monitor "that?!"

Iesada lowered his head "We… We're not sure."

Kikkawa spoke up "The survivor reports that the three of them were… Intoxicated. That may have given her the upper hand. As to the method of the killing, we have consultants working with the local police forensics. They're not sure what could have done that kind of damage; at first glance maybe a gun, or a blade of some kind. According to Doctor Iesada's reports, she can be quite strong. Perhaps she had a sword?"

Hirose shook his head "He said she was unarmed. He said she was NAKED. She didn't have a sword, or a knife, or a fucking potato peeler, but she turned a man's head into a piece of modern art! What about her Potential aren't you telling us, Iesada?"

Iesada didn't look up. "You've seen the results of all our testing. You've read my notes and observations."

Hirose sneered "Right, like how she could do ballet just from seeing a few videos? That's very useful. Tell me, Iesada, did she pirouette them to death?"

Iesada shrugged. "I've reported everything I know."

Hirose threw up his hand "So you're telling us you're clueless. Wonderful. And you, Ueda, what happened with your damned pet? You said she found the escapee, so where?"

Ueda shrugged "Lily reported meeting the escapee, but couldn't tell us anything more."

Hirose glared "Couldn't? Or wouldn't?"

Ueda looked away. Hirose took that as his answer. "Of course. Because you refuse to install a control chip in her."

Ueda looked up "The control chips aren't worth the risk. She's perfectly controllable under regular circumstances. This… excursion was something we'd never attempted… Never anticipated, even."

"But the fact remains you didn't even put a V3 in her as a precaution. The V3s have an extremely acceptable survival rate, and great success."

Ueda shook her head "I told you, she doesn't need it."

Hirose sneered "No, Doctor, this is because you're afraid your precious pet will turn out like Anne. We've made great strides since your work with Anne… Because of your work with Anne. You should be proud of your work, but you don't seem to understand."

Ueda shuddered at the mention of Anne. Then she locked eyes with Hirose, with some fire in her voice "My treatment of my subjects has been approved at all levels and is within all safety and containment protocols."

Hirose gestured toward Iesada "We've seen how well those protocols work. Perhaps we should change them… Maybe have Lily transferred to Beta lab?"

Ueda stood up and stabbed a finger at Hirose, she opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted by the head of Alpha lab.

"Doctors." The voice of Hagiwara Mina was quiet, but the weight it carried immediately grabbed the attention of all present. "I will remind you that we've all been over the reports of the escape incident. None of us have even presented a theory as to how Hatsune escaped. Until you have something productive to add moving forward, you're not helping the situation. Understood?"

Heads nodded.

Hagiwara turned to Iesada "Have the Version 4 controllers taken with Dex and Daina?"

Iesada nodded "Yes. All our tests have been successful so far. The control provided by the Version 4 system has been exemplary thus far. Beyond the level of the Version 3"

Hagiwara addressed the group "And still no success implementing with any Potent subjects?"

Kikkawa spoke up "No, Doctor. The Version 4 has only been successfully used with Augments thus far."

"Hirose, has there been any improvement in Ruby's condition?"

Hirose shook his head "No. Completely catatonic."

Hagiwara sat back. "I see. I want a report from every facility with suggestions as to how we can improve containment. Get input from your technicians, and the people on the ground. We can't let this situation occur again. Submit them to Kikkawa and-"

CVYA appeared suddenly in the center of the table "Doctor, local police reported that Otsu Shunsuke's credit card was used to hold a deposit at a hotel a few miles from the killings."

Hagiwara sat forward, placing her hands on the desk. "Do we have recovery teams in that area?"

CYVA's visor flickered "Teams two and five can be there within 7 minutes."

Hagiwara pointed at the avatar "Send them. And I'm rescinding Iesada's terminate on sight order..."

Iesada's head snapped up "Doctor Hagiwara!"

She raised a hand "I know. If we can safely bring her in alive, that's what we want. It could help answer a lot of our questions. But our priority is no more human casualties. This includes all members of all recovery teams. If any member, not just an officer, deems her a threat at any moment, they're to put a bullet in her head."

CYVA nodded "Aff. Orders relayed. Teams two and five ETA 6 minutes, team three ETA 15 minutes"


	7. Anne

Tanaka sat at his station, watching Anne on a closed circuit monitor and listening to a tiny desktop radio. The girl was a monster. Her delicate body was covered in scars and rents from the innumerable experiments and implants they'd subjected her to, and the Avoidium cowl they'd installed on her head covered her face save an opening for her mouth. She looked barely human anymore, like she'd been stitched together from pieces. But that wasn't the reason nobody in the lab felt comfortable even saying her name. This girl, they were sure, had killed more IVRA personnel than any other subject.

They'd at first thought her power was telepathy. They'd run numerous tests to test the clarity and capability of her mental linking ability. How far could she read minds? What degree of detail? How easily could she communicate? At first, her powers seemed far weaker than her Affinity levels had suggested. Dr Ueda had suspected she'd been holding herself back, so she'd ordered her staff to push Anne more, to find the girls limits.

They never found out. Shortly after the experiments ramped up, the strange suicides began. Isobe Nobusuke had jumped from a bridge. It had shocked the staff, but was ascribed to the stress of the job. A few weeks later, Hayami Akira had jumped from the 10th floor balcony of his flat. Shortly after that, Mutsu Kimie stopped showing up. She was found in her home, splayed across her bed with her wrists cut. There was barely time to say "coincidence" before they got worse.

Dan Yoshisada went to the medical supply room and poured himself a tall glass of razor blades before returning to his station. Nobody knew how long he'd been dead by the time his body finally tumbled to the floor, blood trickling from his mouth. Shobo Shuncho placed his head in the path of the hydraulically actuated Level-A security door. Shuncho didn't make a sound as the two tons of metal moved inexorably through him, cracking and crushing his skull over several seconds.

That was when they suspected Anne. They'd gassed her through the vents, and kept her in a coma until the nurses monitoring her started complaining of nightmares and hallucinations. That's when they'd put her in the holding chamber and surgically grafted the Avoidium cowl to her head.

It had been enough, they'd hoped. Everyone who was assigned to her still felt vaguely uneasy, but the higher-ups had decided this much trepidation was natural, and wasn't the girls direct influence.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a shiver as he watched her sitting on her bed, holding her palms up as though in worship. Imagine if Anne escaped, like that subject at Gamma… The casualties would be numerous and, by her precedent, unimaginably brutal. Desperate for a distraction, he turned up his radio.

* * *

Behind Avoidium walls, Anne sat quietly with her hands extended. The lights were on, she could feel the barest touch of their heat on her fingertips. She had no idea how long it had been since they'd put on the cowl, how long it had been since she'd lost her sight to the cold metal box that encased her skull. The few sounds that made their way through the metal casing were muffled and she couldn't tell where they came from.

Uncertainty. Anger. Loneliness.

That negativity was all she knew. The emotional darkness had consumed her since she'd come to this place years ago, but after long enough you can get used to even the darkest things. The festering emotions had swirled around her and after all this time, they had become her friends.

Anxiety. Exhaustion. Confusion.

Her everyday life was a mix of pain, teetering on the brink of madness, grasping desperately to keep herself in check. She had a goal, and that goal required staying alive, both physically and mentally. She had to keep her wits sharp so that when the time came, when she had the right people laid out before her, she would make them pay.

She would bring them terror and anguish. She would watch them cry out in agony and then, when she was ready, she would tear their minds apart.

Somewhere, not too far away, there was noise of machinery… The shutter was opening to send in her food delivery. As it did, she felt a sensation like gentle noise of the wind, or a faint smell you can't quite identify. It was the feeling of human minds, brought closer as they opened the doors. The doctors had tried frantically to keep her out of their heads, with their walls, the cowl… But she could still feel them.

And if they were overcome with the right feeling, she could grab hold.

She giggled to herself, as she felt a familiar presence.

It was fear. Fear reached out to her from beyond the shutter.

"Hello! I wonder what you've brought for me today?"

* * *

Tanaka heard her laugh over the monitor. That characteristic giggle she'd always had. It was a bubbly sound that had at first gotten the researchers to call her "Sweet Anne". The nickname had changed from an affectionate pet name, to a dark joke. Now, nobody found it remotely amusing.

"Hello! I wonder what you've brought for me today?"

Tanaka shook his head and muttered to himself "Same thing we bring every Sunday, dumbass. Chicken and beans." He turned to his second monitor and watched the progress of the little robot carrying her meal. It was approaching the inner shutter. He watched very carefully as the outer shutter closed, then hit the release request for the inner shutter. Somewhere, at another laboratory, a technician recieved the request, reviewed the shutter position, and approved the door opening. Tanaka saw the door open in the girls room and the robot rolled in, placing the tray on the small table.

He tried not looking at Anne. He tried, but… She was standing now, in an open space, facing nowhere in particular. Her voice came over the monitor, humming a song… It sounded vaguely familiar, but… Off key.

"Fuck she's scary…"

He turned the monitor volume off, silencing the chilling voice, then watched as the robot rolled back out. The shutter closed automatically, and he requested approval for the outer door to open for the bot. He leaned back and watched as the robot approached the outer door. It was going to be a huge relief when both doors were closed again. He started humming nervously with the radio. It didn't help. The sound of his own half-singing felt dreadfully eerie. And familiar.

Suddenly, Tanaka felt his blood freeze as he realized Anne had been humming the same tune. He reached over with trembling fingers and turned the monitor volume back up. Now, she was singing, perfectly in time with the radio beside him "... for years and years I roamed, I gazed a gazeless stare…"

Tanaka sat frozen, unable to move… There was no mistaking it, she was in his head. He needed to act quickly, or else he'd wind up like the others… But he was petrified, unable to move, as though an unknown force was bearing down on him. Anne kept singing.

"...we must have died alone, a long long time ago, who knows?"

Just then, the robot pulled through the outer shutter, and it closed. Suddenly, Tanaka felt the force lift.

He knew what he needed to do, but he had to act quickly to get her lingering influence out of his head. Jumping up from his chair, he bolted to the medical room. He rummaged frantically through the cabinets, tossing things aside and grabbing fervently, collecting the necessary pieces. He tore open a heavy-gauge syringe and popped the cover from the needle.

"You won't get me, you psychic bitch!"

He jammed the needle into a container of Isopropyl and yanked the plunger back. He grabbed the syringe firmly by the cyllinder and held the needle poised in front of his eye

"I'm getting you out of there!"

Tanaka jammed the needle into his eye as hard as he could and mashed the plunger. He smiled as he felt the warmth grabbing through his windsock. She wasn't going to amalgamate him syrup now. Unfeeling so rapturous discovery he exquisite? Old pleasure required removing elegance him had! Down she bore sing saw calm high#

* * *

Calm. Quiet. Blackness.

Back in the chamber, Anne felt her tenuous hold on a last thin ribbon of terror finally slip away into silence. She smiled as she sat down at the table. Chicken and beans! Her favorite!


	8. Pursuit

-click-

The latch separated from the door jamb, and time seemed to freeze as the person behind the door readied to throw it open. The next few seconds could be the last of her life. One wrong step, one moment of hesitation, and she'd certainly be cut down by gunfire. Fear and doubt coursed through her, accelerated by her rapidly beating heart as she concentrated her chakra in her legs. Then, as the door sprang open, she launched herself forward. The fear and doubt was left in place, a spiritual effigy left behind. All that remained was cold rage.

She didn't know what the man on the other side of the door expected. Maybe to find her lying on the bed. Maybe cowering in a corner, or hiding in the closet. She'd never know, but the confusion in his eyes told her he wasn't expecting Miku coming straight for him. Before he could begin to fix his aim, a cyan blur came streaking down, the gun clattering to the floor with his hand still clutching it.

Behind him, the second man began raising his weapon as she turned and dashed toward him. She pushed the gun away and stopped, her face inches from his. It takes years of training to develop the coordination and muscle memory to take a gun like in the movies. That is, unless you can will your body to simply be where you imagine it. With a quick motion, she twisted the gun out of his hand and threw him back into the wall with her shoulder. He staggered, and looked up as she brought the barrel to his face and pulled the trigger.

Once.

Twice.

A roar of fire and metal turned his face into an unrecognizable crater. She turned back to the first man, who was desperately trying to peel the fingers of his severed hand from the trigger guard. He never looked up, never saw the gun pointed at the back of his head, and never heard the sound as the steel jacketed slug escorted him to oblivion at 300 meters per second. She quickly went over the two bodies, grabbing the second pistol and a few magazines.

Hurried booted footsteps resounded through the halls. She needed to move. They'd be harder to surprise, now, but she still needed to choose her space. At a distance, she'd be at a disadvantage against the IVRA troopers. If she could get close, their training with the long-range weapons wouldn't be as much of a factor. She ran towards the footsteps, towards the stairs. The stairwell door opened as she approached. Miku and her counterpart were both equally shocked by the appearance of the other, but she was not held back by a need to choose targets.

By the time the IVRA soldier realized that the figure before her was the target, Miku's bladed tendril was at her neck. She tried to pull the trigger, but the nerves connecting her mind to her body had already been cut. She was dead before her body hit the floor, followed shortly by her head. The second trooper tried to bear his pistol on Miku, but she was too close. Miku grabbed his wrist, and turned towards it, pressing her back against him and jamming her gun upwards into his armpit. She fired and fired, the explosions and hot metal tearing through joint and sinew, ruptured flesh jamming the gun before the magazine emptied. She turned again, still gripping his arm, her chakra-fueled strength overcoming the last few ribbons of muscle holding his arm to his body.

Miku threw the arm to the floor and drew the other gun. The shocked soldier reflexively raised his remaining arm as she pulled the trigger, but his hand barely slowed the 250-grain bullet before it burst through his skull, spraying his final thoughts across the wall behind him as he crumpled to the floor. Miku dashed down the stairs to the exit. One door stood between her and the city.

She hit the crash bar and threw the door open. A lone IVRA trooper stood guard with a vicious looking submachine gun. Miku reacted first, leveling her pistol in his direction and firing as she ran away, sending him scrambling for cover behind a steel garbage bin. The gun locked open as she fired her last bullet, and the officer emerged from behind the bin, aiming at her as she turned and ran faster down the alley, waiting for the shot that would claim her. The exit from the alley seemed like forever away, and all the fear she'd left behind caught up to her in an instant.

But the shot never came. She reached the exit and, against better judgement, looked back. She couldn't even see the trooper that should have certainly brought her down. She had no idea how she'd escaped, but she wasn't going to question it now.

Miku massaged another magazine into the gun and released the slide with a sharp click. She tucked it into a deep jacket pocket, and summoned her long blood-streaked hair into a compact bun behind her neck.

A few blocks away, a young boy watched as Miku pulled a hood over her head and stalked down the street. He lowered his rifle and started disassembling it. Beside him, a black haired girl sat on the rooftop, her eyes closed and lips pouted in concentration.

"We'll have to get moving, they're going to be looking for us, too, now." He whispered. "Are you able to follow her?"

The black-haired girl nodded.

The boy put the last piece of the rifle into a black cello case and snapped it shut. He stood up, placing the case on its wheels and holding out a set of earphones to his companion.

"Alright, Avanna, let's get going. We've gotta find out who she is. I hope this was worth it."


End file.
